CATHERINE'S BOOK OF HOURS (FOR USE IN ROME) France,... - Lot 23 - Aguttes

Lot 23
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Estimation :
100000 - 150000 EUR
Result with fees
Result : 201 500EUR
CATHERINE'S BOOK OF HOURS (FOR USE IN ROME) France,... - Lot 23 - Aguttes
CATHERINE'S BOOK OF HOURS (FOR USE IN ROME) France, Tours, ca. 1485-90 In Latin and French, illuminated manuscript on parchment; 1 full-page miniature, 8 large miniatures and 21 small miniatures by the master of Jean Charpentier 96 leaves, 6 blank leaves, missing single leaves after leaves 13 and 17, and 2 leaves after leaves 37 and 43. otherwise complete, quires mainly of 8 leaves (except i-ii 6 , xiv 2); 216 x 155 mm (122 x 85 mm (calendar: 125 x 80 mm)); on parchment; 22 long lines in carbon ink; red ink rules; modern foliation in pencil; cursiva formata ; calendar in red, blue and black, titles in red, endpapers and initials on one and two lines of delicate design in liquid gold on red-brown and blue patterns, 21 small miniatures with three-quarter illuminated borders, the miniatures are 7 to 10 lines long, mostly 8 lines, two of them are historiated initials (leaves 82 and 87v), the painted borders represent colored acanthus leaf motifs and partially colored flower and fruit motifs on a gold background, including dragons, birds, ornamental grotesque representations, hybrid creatures, etc. 9 very large or full-page miniatures with full borders framing the entire page with slightly arched compartments, all usually with a large initial and 4 lines of text below the miniature, the first containing the first words of the text painted in the lower frame, (in excellent condition with large margins, a few small inconsistent stains and small spots in the margins). Bound in English morocco circa 1700, 5-ribbed spine with gilt compartments, title "HORES.MSS", rich Duseuil-style decoration on the boards, three frames, two of which are roulette, central four-lobed motif decorated with foliage, leaves and flowers, the same iron is affixed by half in the center of each side of the second frame, roulette on the edges, gilt edges, marbled paper endpapers, small lack on the upper headpiece, lower headpiece slightly cracked, nerves, cut and corners rubbed, a splintering on the upper board, preserved in a probably English rosewood box dating from the late Victorian period, circa 1870-80, ivory, sycamore and fruitwood inlays imitating cathedral bindings, bordered with red velvet, defective clasp and case overall very fragile. (213 x 152 mm). A true picture book, in exceptional condition, this manuscript must certainly be the largest in format and probably the most accomplished of the Hours painted by the Master of Jean Charpentier, a close follower of the Touraine painter and illuminator Jean Fouquet and close collaborator of Jean Bourdichon. For a relatively short manuscript, the book contains a large number of miniatures, 9 full-page and 21 vignettes accompanied by a rich secondary decoration. It is in excellent condition and was probably created on commission for a woman named Catherine, whose name appears several times. Could it be Catherine Le Camus, the wife of Jean Charpentier, from whom the name of master to the artist comes? Of undeniable technical perfection, the miniatures contained in the present Hours of Catherine Le Camus present a luminous palette and a brilliant use of liquid gold. TEXT - ff. 1-6v : Calendar in Latin and French - ff. 7r-10 : Gospel pericopes. - ff. 13-43v : Hours of the Virgin, according to the use of Rome - ff. 44 : Hours of the Cross - ff. 44v-46v : Hours of the Holy Spirit - ff. 47-56v : Penitential psalms followed by litanies. - ff. 57-80v : Office of the Dead according to the usage of Rome. - ff. 82v-84v : Various prayers : " Deus qui voluisti " and " Obsecro te ". ff. 87-95v : Suffrages. ICONOGRAPHY The identification of the artist has taken place over several decades, an anonymous artist was first recognized by François Avril in a 1976 publication. In 1982, John Plummer divided a corpus of manuscripts very close in pictorial style between two illuminators whom he named the "Master of Morgan 96" and "Master of Morgan 366". In 1993, Nicole Reynaud pointed out that the New York manuscripts were "too closely related in their modest ambition not to be from the same workshop, which it is more prudent to study as a single group", the work of the workshop grouped around the "Master of Jean Charpentier", an assumed name given to it from a book of hours executed for Jean Charpentier, notary and secretary to the French king Charles VIII. Many of the books of hours produced were for use in Tours, but the workshop seems to have worked in a wider area that stretched from Anjou to Poitou, through the County of Marche and even Rouen. The style is characterized by a wide range of colors with liquid golds, blue, green, red
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